Jamie Radtke May Be Nuts, but She Does Have a Point About George Allen

Look, Jamie Radtke’s just as crazy and not-too-bright as George Allen, but she does have a point here. Namely, that it is beyond absurd – not to mention wildly offensive! – for George Allen to blame the 9/11 attacks on our country for the trillions of dollars in deficits run up while George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and a Republican Congress (including Senator Allen) were in charge.

So, what caused our country’s deficits? The CBO has the numbers, and they couldn’t be clearer. First and foremost, the Bush era tax cuts — which had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11, but which had everything to do with Allen’s disastrous “deficits don’t matter”/”trickle down” economic philosophy — slashed government revenues to the lowest share of GDP since 1950, and continue to cost our country $400 billion a year. Brilliant. In other words, both Jamie Radkte and George Allen are dead wrong that the deficits are all, or even mostly, caused by spending. Again, the #1 cause is the Bush tax cuts, which Allen voted for.

Second, there are the two wars, Afghanistan and Iraq, neither of which was ever paid for by raising the revenues to pay for them. And no, Felix, whether or not the invasion of Iraq was warranted for a number of reason, it had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. So don’t hide behind that national tragedy (possibly even more disgusting is Allen’s attempt to hide behind the troops for his own failures) to absolve yourself of responsibility for what you and your party did. Pathetic.

Third, the deficits are caused in large part by the sharp economic downturn – Wall Street collapsing, the housing bubble bursting, and all the other wonders of the Bush/Cheney/Republican era – which Barack Obama and the Democrats inherited and have had to spend huge amounts of time and energy cleaning up. Heckuva job by George Allen and his fellow Republicans, huh? You’ve also gotta love how Allen et al. refuse to take responsibility for any of this, claim it’s “Obama’s economy,” blah blah blah. Typical Republicans, though, not taking responsibility for their own actions and their owned failed, right-wingnut economic ideology.

Finally, as even not-the-brightest-bulb Jamie Radtke can figure out, 9/11 didn’t force George Allen to vote for Medicare Part D, also unfunded by the Republicans. Of course, yet again, Allen refuses to take responsibility for his own actions. Sensing a pattern here?